The Easiest Way eBook

The circumstances under which “The
Easiest Way” was written are rather peculiar.
When I was an advance-agent, ahead of second-class
companies, the need of money caused me to write a
one-act piece called “All the Way from Denver,”
which in time I was able to dispose of. Later,
after having written “Paid in Full,”
I realized that in the play, “All the Way from
Denver,” there was a situation or theme
that might prove exceedingly valuable in a four-act
play. After discussing the possibilities
with Mr. Archie Selwyn, we concluded to write it.
In the meantime, the one-act piece had come into the
possession of Margaret Mayo, and through her, Mr.
Edgar Selwyn decided that the title should be
“The Easiest Way” instead of “All
the Way from Denver.”

The play was then taken in its scenario
form to Mr. C.B. Dillingham, and discussed
with him at length. This was prior to the
public presentation of “Paid in Full.”
I possessed no particular reputation as a dramatic
writer—­in fact, the Messrs. Selwyn—­Archie
and Edgar—­were the only ones who took me
seriously, and thought me a possibility. Mr. Dillingham
was not particularly impressed with the piece,
because he thought it was much too broad in theme,
and he did not like the idea of slapping the managerial
knuckles of the theatre. Further, the obvious
inference in “The Easiest Way,” that Laura
was kept out of work in order to be compelled
to yield herself to Brockton, was a point
which did not appeal to him. However, we
had a working agreement with him, and later, Mr. Archie
Selwyn, in discussing the story of the play with
Mr. David Belasco, aroused his interest.
The latter saw “Paid in Full” and
“The Wolf,” and so he sent for me, with
the result that “The Easiest Way”
was first produced in Hartford, Conn., on December
31, 1908. Since its New York production, it has
been presented in nearly every country of the
world. It has not always met with commercial
success, but it has always been regarded as a
play of representative importance.

William Winter was one of the bitterest enemies of
“The Easiest Way.” He placed it with
“Zaza” and Brieux’s “Three
Daughters of M. Dupont.” As an opposite
extreme view, we give the opinion of Mr. Walter Eaton,
written in 1909, concerning the play: “It
places Mr. Walter as a leader among our dramatists.”
In some respects, we may have surpassed it since then,
in imaginative ideality; but, as an example of relentless
realism, it still holds its own as a distinct contribution.
The text has been edited for private circulation, and
it is this text which is followed here. A few
modifications, of a technical nature, have been made
in the stage directions; but even with these slight
changes, the directions are staccato, utilitarian in
conciseness, rather than literary in the Shaw sense.